


Planetside

by orphan_account



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Armitage Hux Has Issues, Armitage Hux Needs A Hug, Drunken Kissing, Enemies to Lovers, Force Bond (Star Wars), Hux Has No Chill, Hux-centric, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Kylo Ren is a Mess, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, POV Armitage Hux, Post-Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 21:55:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17816210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The supreme leader of the first order wants to take a kriffing vacation. Hux kicks himself, for the fourth time in as many hours, for not shooting the bastard when he had the chance.





	Planetside

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not entirely satisfied with how this turned out but I wanted to put something out for this pairing. :)

The supreme leader of the first order wanted to take a kriffing vacation. Hux kicks himself, for the fourth time in as many hours for not shooting the bastard when he had the chance. 

********  
  


In the first hours after the (extremely reduced) resistance fighters had made their escape Ren had raged. This in itself was not particularly surprising, to the contrary it was something that everyone who interacted with Ren had come to expect. Even the greenest officers had learned quickly to steer clear of the knight in a mood.  Hux had locked himself in his quarters aboard the moderately damaged Finalizer, put a pillow over his head and unsuccessfully tried to block out the sound of Ren making their repairs even harder. 

********  
  


The next afternoon Hux called a meeting of the first orders top strategists to plan their  mission. When he arrived the other two chairs at the head of the table sat empty. One was for the supreme leader the other marked with a plaque for the commander of the storm troopers which would remain empty until Ren took the time to approve one of Hux’s nominations.

********  
  


Captain Phasma used to be one of Hux’s closest allies. He might have gone so far as to call the head stormtrooper a friend after the multitude of late night drinks they’d downed together while venting about Kylo’s latest stunt. It was a shame that Phasma had become almost as immature at the end. Her obsession with the defective stormtrooper from her unit  had been her downfall. It had been a matter of her personal pride something Hux knew all too well after the destruction of his precious starkiller base. He hadn’t interefered and now their stormtroopers would be unorganized.

********  
  


The briefing room is silent his liteauntants waited for his orders to begin clamoring forward with their theories about the resistances next move. As they should. Under normal circumstances the hologram of Snoke would simply wave a distracted hand and they’d begin. Whether Ren had joined them had been irrelevant as her rarely showed any interest in  _ planning _ attacks though gods knows he insisted on participating in them. Hux knew  he got the holopad confirmation message that he sent but wondered if Ren even knew where the meeting are held. 

********  
  


It had been almost a half hour before that question was answered by Kylo Ren’s unceremonious entrance. At this point discussions had already begun an several potential on planet locations in the outer ring had been debated. The new supreme leader was sweaty, almost panting in fact. He was clutching a horribly outdated paper map in his left hand which he threw on the middle of the conference table before calmly sitting down to Hux’s right. 

********  
  


“That’s not your chair Ren.” Hux told him keeping his voice as level as possible. The military officials held a collective breath and waited for the knights outburst but he just had moved to the proper chair looking embarrassed. 

********  
  


“Supreme leader.” a human woman named Sidiew began bowing in an over the top display of (underserved) reverence. “Now that you’ve arrived we can discuss plans to move against the resistance more fully. Please give us your guidance.” She continued.  _ Bootlicker.  _  Hux thought annoyed.

********  
  


“General Hux relay orders to your people on the bridge to set a course for Liynan.” Ren ordered ignoring the humanoid. 

********  
  


“What the  _ hell _ do we want on Liynan.” Hux had snapped, then backpedaled before Ren had gotten a chance to respond. 

********  
  


“My apologies supreme leader. It’s just that Liynan is a vacation planet that is not overtly supportive of their cause. The resistance would have to be near  _ suicidal _ to try to establish a base there. Even if it was just for a short time to lay low their faces are all over the holocasts. They’d be captured immediately.” Hux smiled.

********  
  


“The scavenger woman, she appears to me in visions.” Ren announced to the table as if this explained everything.

********  
  


“That sounds like a personal problem.” Hux mumbled.

********  
  


“She can see me too general. As times gone on we can make out more of each other’s surroundings. She’s more likely to come to a non militarized planet like Liynan than one of our strongholds.”

********  
  


“Are you actually suggesting that Rey is going to seek you out willingly. That’s she’s just going to show up alone and be cowed into submission by your charisma and supreme authority? You brought here to us and she murdered the  _ last  _ supreme leader. You want to make it two?” Ren flinched at this. Hux had his suspicions about the real perpetrator of the assassination but he’s intelligent enough to keep quiet and increase the chances of  _ his _ torso remaining intact. 

********  
  


“What exactly makes you think this will be different on Liynan?” He was silent after posing his question. 

********  
  
  


“I can win her over.” Ren snapped every inch the manchild Hux detested. Then his voice had  softened his tone almost as emotionless as Hux’s own. “Are you undermining my authority general?” He’d asked. The gathered officials murmured. Hux had been forced to swallow his pride.

********  
  


“I’ll set us a course for Liynan.” He relented.  A male twilek in spindly glasses pipes up from the far side of the conference table. 

********  
  


“If we stay on path with the current fuel usages we will arrive at Liynan within the day.” Sidiew raised her hand next.

********  
  


“Lieutenant Colonel Sidiew?” He addressed her. Her face lights up.

********  
  


“Permission to request the immediate assistance of repair workers on Liynan above the capitals airspace? We can keep most lower level personnel onboard while an envoy is sent to the planets surface. While we’re gone they will repair the Finalizer and have her battle ready in case of a rebel attack.” He nodded his approval and the meeting dispersed. 

********  
  


Hux absolutely detested being planetside. He had spent his entire childhood on his despot of a fathers space station. Even when he had left for a military academy in the outer ring the weather had been so inhospitable and frigid that going outside had never been an option. As a result of his upbringing his skin was as pale as they come, a sharp contrast against his ginger hair. He avoided tropical climates for his on planet political  appearances because unless he constantly stopped his speech to slather on more sunscreen (which was terribly awkward) his skin would burn within an hour.

********  
  


He had brought only a small trunk from onboard the Finalizer. The reasoning behind this being a mixture of his lack of personal possessions and Ren’s insistence that they purchase clothes on Liynan to blend in with the local population as much as possible. Hux _ had _ brought his holoscreen stocked with military memoirs and books on political theory, as well as discreetly downloaded the first season of a guilty pleasure soap opera from the Hosnian system. The finale had never aired due to Hux’s own elimination of the planet it was filmed on. Sacrifices had to be made for the good of the galaxy and unfortunately Hux off hours entertainment had been one of them.

********  
  


The general decided he would spend his days in the hotel room the planets Chancellor had assured them was quite lavish. He planned to accompany Ren to public appearances in the evenings. As the news of the death of supreme leader Snoke spread their allies and enemies alike needed to be shown that the first order was in the hands of a capable, stable leader even if this was something Hux himself doubted. 

********  
  


The shuttle to take them planetside arrives in the hold early the next morning. Hux is carrying a thermos full of hot caf spiked with something a  stronger alongside his suitcase. He’s going to need more than a bit of a buzz to get through this. Ren is already seated by the time Hux boards. The searing in the front where Kylo has planted himself are cushioned and substantially more spacious than the seats assigned to lower ranking officials. He could always sit next to Sidiew who is looking at him hopefully from the row second to the back. 

********  
  
  


The lieutenant colonel has already put on civilian clothes swapping out her uniform in favor of a light colored wrap skirt and a gauzy sweater that’s popular in the fashion scene. He knows her type all too way.  She’s probably been plotting to take Phasma’s position before the other woman’s body had hit the floor. He appreciates ambition. Hell he wouldn’t be where he was now if he hadn’t ruined a few reputations to climb the ladder. But thinking about filling Phasma’s position so soon leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. Sidiew’s almond colored eyes flicker back between Hux’s approach and her seatmate, a chattering female cadet. In short he’s stuck between a hopeless social climber and Ren’s brooding stare. He isn’t particularly sure which one is worse. Nevertheless Hux continues towards Sidiew. 

********  
  
  


“Lieutenant colonel?” Hux asks resting a hand on her shoulder. The cadet falls quiet and Sidiew looks at him hopefully. 

********  
  


“Please join our supreme leader in the front row. He wants to speak to you. You can sit there for the remainder of the flight.” Sidiew’s face noticeably crumbles but she nods obediently and gives a rushed goodbye to her seatmate before rushing off towards the front of the ship. Hux settles down next to the girl who scoots to the far end of her seat apprehensively. He’s all too familiar with the feeling of being watched he can feel the girls eyes trained on him for the first few minutes of their descent. He pulls out his holoscreen and cues up his binge worthy program. No point in wasting time. 

********  
  


Ren and Hux are the first to exit the craft when they land in the capital. The planet’s  Chancellor is at the end of the landing strip nervously picking at his suit coat. Hux blinks twice trying in vain  to get accustomed to Liynan’s late summer midday brilliance. His holoscreen cheerfully informs him of the temperature change. Hux runs his ship at a cool fourteen degrees celsius and the surface of Liynan is thirty-seven. Hux knows by the time they reach the hotel he will have sweat stains on the underarms of his light grey formal uniform Hux knows now that this is the reason Sidiew changed on the finalizer. 

********  
  


The Chancellor leads them to an associate who shows them to the cars that drive them to the outskirts of the city near Liynan’s white sand beaches. He sat alone the first of the fleet of black and red cars that trailed through the city. So much for Ren’s want for discretion he thought pleased. Hux found as they drove that hovercrafts had fallen out of popularity on vacation planets such as this one. The airways were clear leaving an objectively gorgeous view of Liynan’s permanently light pink tinged horizon.

********  
  


The lobby of the Rini hotel is done up in white marble with tasteful gold overlays. Hux focuses on counting the number of ceiling tiles while Ren rages at the Chancellor’s associate for the apparent leak that had caused a flood of local and international reporters to ambush their group at check in. 

********  
  


“We wouldn’t have been terribly hard to spot mole or not.” Hux points out rubbing his temples tiredly. “All these people would have had to do is follow the ominous procession of tastefully colored vehicles and come to the not so far fetched conclusion that something newsworthy might appear from within.”

********  
  


Ren had looked pissed enough to forcibly slam Hux into the crystal centerpiece fountain in the middle of the lobby. He almost certainly would have if the camera presence hadn’t been so large. 

********  
  
  


“How do I get them to leave without killing someone?” Ren whispers and Sidiew, who has been on their heels since the moment they landed on Liynan stifles a quiet giggle. 

********  
  


“Just go to your room and put on something presentable for dinner with the chancellor.” Hux sighs walking towards the media circus that has been pushed to the far end of the lobby by hotel security staff. A bright eyed alien in sweeping pastel robes spots Hux first and soon the all the rest are yelling and a cacophony is building. 

********  
  


“One at a time please.” Hux scowls and they fall into line. When it’s common knowledge that entire planets were destroyed on your orders quieting crowds seems to go a little smoother.

********  
  


Hux is able to retire to his room after an hour of patiently detailing the recent battle and the “competency” of the new supreme leader. He flashes the keycard and steps inside letting out a pent up mix of a frustrated scream and growl of irritation he’s been holding in all day. He looks up to find a half naked Ren doing a dramatic half turn in front of a floor mirror.

********  
  


“What the hell are you doing in my room Ren!” Hux shrieks and the other man spins around startled.

********  
  


“This is  _ my _ room!” He yells back genuinely startled Hux faces the wall and holds up his hands. 

********  
  


“Alright Ren if you could just put a shirt on we’ll get this sorted out.” Hux grimaces

********  
  


When he turns back around Ren is sitting on the edge of the rooms singular bed. They compare key cards and find they’ve both (unfortunately) been given the same room number. Hux shudders for the poor clerk who’s most likely going to lose his job over this until Kylo stands up to button his dress shirt with a shrug.

********  
  


“Is it worth our time to go down and get it changed? We can be adults about this.” He comments.

********  
  
  


Hux sits there slack jawed completely dismayed at the Supreme Leaders first attempt to act like an adult taking away the last of his privacy.

********  
  


“I’m too tired from dealing with the mob outside to argue with you. I’ll sleep on the couch and you aren’t to bother me after nine o’clock.” Hux snaps, vindictively snatching a pair of the softest pillows and dragging them into the separate living room area.

********  
  


The living room is just as posh as the bedroom the couch facing a wall made entirely out of blue tinted glass. The beach is a few blocks away but from this height he can see straight to the shoreline and the sun sparking off the emerald colored water.

********  
  


Hux dresses in the en-suite bathroom locking the door and leaning against it for good measure. He’s brought a more casual pair of beige slacks and a white dress shirt. When he walks back into the bedroom Ren is sitting cross legged on the floor his face scrunched up in concentration. 

********  
  


“Push any harder and you might shit yourself.” Hux remarks interrupting the knights reverie. 

********  
  


“I’m trying to reach for Rey.” Ren responds annoying the crass out of character humor. 

********  
  
  


“Of  _ course _ you are.” Hux mutters then speaks at a volume Ren can hear. “How did you connect with her before?” 

********  
  


“It was an unexpected occurrence on my part. Seemed to be on here as well. I don’t think either of us consciously made it happen then. I just wanted to see if I could now.” Ren admitted sheepishly obviously sensing Hux’s irritation.

********  
  


“I’m walking down to the water. Dinner is traditionally served around eight.” Hux tells him as he laces up his boots. 

********  
  


“You’re going to the beach in those?” Ren snorts looking pointedly at his footwear. Hux steps outside and slams the door. 

********  
  


Not bringing sandals is a choice he comes to regret shuffling through the hot sand while carrying his freshly shined boots in one hand. The water is quiet the waves gently lapping at the edge of the wet sand shore. There’s vacationing families of every species sunbathing on beach towels and swimming in the sea. It seems that every few paces there’s a couple or a trio (and once a group of five) holding each other close in almost obscene public displays of affection. Hux averts his eyes. He hasn’t really had anyone in that way since his academy days. After he’d graduated there had been an older officer here and there, a quick and rushed affair but no one he’d cared enough about to go back to after more than a couple nights. 

********  
  


He wonders sometimes if this is why he goes so hard at Ren switching out one form of passion for a lesser one, of anger. It makes him question if the same is true for Kylo. He knows the man has requested the company of more than a few high end escorts but other than his infatuation with the young Jedi Hux has a sneaking suspicion that Ren is just as repressed. 

********  
  


He leaves the beach blessedly unrecognized and walks along the boardwalk. The benches next to the sea grass are packed with over excited tourists who avidly follow the path of the rapidly setting sun that turns the sky a deep fuschia.  Some shops owners are shuttering their doors while  _ others _ are just setting up. 

********  
  


Hux hurries past a erotic club where a humanoid woman who ironically matches the Liynan sky is gyrating in a window from behind a lace curtain. The restaurant the chancellor has chosen for their evening is a seafood house overlooking the water. When Hux walks into the interior he can already tell it’s one of those annoyingly popular eateries that pretend to be quaint and charge exorbitant prices for easily prepared food. Hux has given the other officials a night off to roam the city in order to give the Chancellor a more personable experience. They will be unguarded but if nothing else Hux is confident in Ren’s fighting ability.  The only other individual present is Rakata journalist who will transcribe the meeting and pass on choice details to the press.

********  
  


Ren walks in at ten till eight by which point the chancellor and Hux have been amicably discussing the newest line of starship for a quarter of an hour. The slow paced service of the restaurant gives Hux and Ren plenty of time to calmly address the chancellors concerns. Kylo actually has a few good reassurances that makes Hux question whether he man’s normal abrasively childish behavior is more  _ purposeful _ than simple spoiled ignorance. 

********  
  


The dinner is primarily common shellfish found on many a planet and space though the last course of the meal is unique to Liynan, strong spirits served in chilled glass bowls. The chancellor insists it’s a bonding ritual, something to make the words flow more sincerely. Hux dips his ladle into the bowl and takes a sip. The drink tastes sweet with a cinnamon like undertone he can’t put his finger on. They drink until it’s midnight the Chancellor becoming more and more undone as time passes until Ren’s patience runs thin and he politely asks the Chancellor if they might make their way back to the hotel room. He waves them goodbye from his slumped over position in his chair. They had been warned the drink was potent but disappointedly Hux felt nothing more than a slight buzz.

********  
  


When the two left the restaurant the chilly evening breeze has Hux letting out a sigh of relief. Ren shivers. The Knight and the plainclothes General walk in silence an appropriate distance apart until they’ve ended up at the same erotic establishment Hux had passed early in the evening. Ren centers himself, slightly swaying, in front of the deep pink humanoids window and watches her do her dance her pastel blue braids whipping from side to side in the process. She presses one hand to the glass and licks her lips seductively using the other hand to beckon them closer. Ren spins around and grabs Hux’s arm hard enough to leave a mark. 

********  
  


“Kriffing hell Ren!” Hux says

********  
  


“Why have you never taken a wife?” He asks pointing at the dancer who’s stopped her dance to watch their scene unfold. “There’s surely plenty of hanger ons who’d love a tryst with the leader of the first order.” Ren continues still diggings his fingers into Hux’s arm.

****

_ “Leader? _ ” Hux reaffirms smirking. It seems that whatever was in their drink is catching up to Ren.

********  
  


“No one sees me as anything more than a figurehead. Crushing the resistance once and for all and bringing Rey to rule beside me might change that but as it stands you are certainly the one people see as legitimate.” Ren mumbles.

********  
  


“I do wish I had been Snoke’s successor. Ruling is something I’ve wanted since I knew how to want. Though I wouldn’t have minded sharing some of the responsibility with a consort. With someone I loved- or at least someone I somewhat trusted. I will never marry a woman Ren. I’ve slept with a few and though physically enjoyable I’ve never been intensely attracted to one.” Hux smiles dimly aware of how much he’s oversharing though not particularly bothered. Ren seems to take this in stride. “If you didn’t make such an arse of yourself on a daily basis we probably would have slept together already.” Hux quietly admits.

********  
  


At first Ren says nothing just drops Hux’s arm in surprise and slowly begins to walk ahead. Then he looks back to Hux over his shoulder.

********  
  


“I think you’re drunk General.” 

********  
  


“Oh I’m constantly drunk. Probably high functioning alcoholism definitely a coping mechanism. I spike my caf in the morning and pour myself something heavier after dinner. I do hide it well though don’t I?” He explains. Ren bursts out laughing.

********  
  


“A coping mechanism. Hux would you think that’s why I make such an “arse” of myself?” Ren replies. 

********  
  
  


“No Ren. I think you have anger issues.” Hux answers. Their conversation continues uninhibited all the way back to their suite. It’s the most Hux has talked to anyone except Phasma in years. He feels like he’s in some sort of strange fever dream every time he looks at Ren’s almost smiling face. Hux has barely finish locking their door before Ren lifts him up in some bastardization of bridal style and throws him down on the bed. Ren flops down next to him and reaches a hand out to touch a pattern of freckles on his jawline. Hux is so out of it he doesn’t even question why the others mans hands are so gently cupping his face when the only other thing they’ve ever done is squeeze his throat until he can’t breathe. 

********  
  


“Hmmm...pretty freckles.” Ren mutters under his breath. “If I promise not to make an arse of myself would you sleep with me?” He asks. Hux wonders if Ren is even aware that he said either of those things out loud. 

********  
  


“Why not Ren. Why not.” He shrugs and Kylo leans in closer. 

********  
  


Hux tilts his head back and when Ren brings their lips together he makes a pleasant noise in the back of his throat and reaches around Ren’s broad shoulders to pull himself closer. They’ve sunk almost completely into the overly plush sheets Hux realizes humorously. He can taste the spirits on Ren’s breath. Hux moves his hands to Kylo’s curly hair and snakes his hand beneath his button up. Ren breaks the kiss and sits up pushing Hux to the side. For a moment Hux thinks that Ren has come to his senses and the kiss will remain a fluke between two sexually frustrated arch enemies but then he straddles Hux’s legs and pins his arms down. The next kiss is warm and twice as needy. They continue a fight for dominance legs and arms tangled together. At some point Ren kicks him so hard Hux falls off the edge of the bed and hits the floor with a deafening thump. 

********  
  


“Are you alright?” Ren asks struggling a straight face and Hux dusts himself off and throws himself back at him. Before long they’re undressed Ren’s face buried in Hux’s neck. Suddenly Ren flinches and scrambles backwards reaching for a throw pillow that had fallen off the bed early in the tussle. Ren hands it to Hux and covers his own modesty with his hand before taking a shaky breath and turning to face an empty corner of the room. Hux wonders if the spirits had contained a mild hallucinogenic before Ren opens his mouth.

********  
  


“It’s Rey she’s  _ here. _ ” He whispers.

********  
  


“Right kriffing now?” Hux groans leaning his head on Ren’s exposed shoulder. 

********  
  


“ _Yes_.” He replies.

********  
  


“And she can see everything around you. Kriffing figures.” Hux is going to regret this whole ordeal in the morning.

****  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is much appreciated!


End file.
